Julian Casablancas' stroke of inspiration

Jo HaleStrokes front man Julian Casablancas goes for an '80s feel on his first solo album, "Phrazes for the Young."

Phrazes for the YoungJulian Casablancas
(RCA)

In “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young,” his 1894 paean to the contradictions complications of youth, Oscar Wilde began, “The first duty in life is to be as artificial as possible. What the second duty is no one has as yet discovered.”

Julian Casablancas, whose debut solo album takes its title from Wilde’s collection of credos, would be a good candidate for the cover of the 21st-century edition of the book. The son of a fashion impresario, reared in European boarding schools, educated on East Village street corners, Casablancas eventually blossomed as the singer and chief songwriter of the Strokes, the nervy New York quintet that came closer than anyone to restoring the Velvet Underground’s groundbreaking collision of high and low cultures in rock ’n’ roll. The Strokes had the clothes, the hair, the boozy apathy and, most important, the songs to make it all worthwhile.

Three years removed from the band’s third and least embraced album, Casablancas seems to have been trying to discover life’s second duty. But if Oscar couldn’t do it, Julian’s chances were slim to none. Luckily, the songs are still there. So the world will have to make due with “Phrazes for the Young.”

This is a good thing. Casablancas remains intent on pulling pop’s past glories into the modern age, but where the Strokes meddled in wiry, ’70s-era garage rock, here their leader indulges his fondness for the analog electronics of the 1980s. The result is a tuneful collection of sincere rock-to-dance crossovers with big choruses that should have Strokes fans and clubgoers twitching with equal pleasure.

Lead track “Out of the Blue” opens with inebriated fun-house keyboards before shifting into a fairly straightforward guitar progression with propulsive, biscuit-tin drums. In his signature aloof baritone, Casablancas addresses his mutliyear hangover with exhilarating honesty: “Somewhere along the way, my hopefulness turned to sadness / Somewhere along the way, my sadness turned to bitterness / Somewhere along the way, my bitterness to turned to anger / Somewhere along the way, my anger turned to vengeance.” It sounds dour, but when the sing-along chorus arrives with dancing synthesizers and sunny “oh-oh-ohs,” the story and its teller thaw out and ultimately circle back to hopefulness.

The synths and pingy guitars in “Left and Right in the Dark” evoke the streamlined stealth of Gary Numan and Human League, but could just as easily be traced to contemporary dance-rock heroes like Dan Deacon. When the roller-rink keyboards arrive to propel “11th Dimension” into full-powered new-wave glory, one can’t help but think, ‘Isn’t this the scene where the Karate Kid gets beaten up at the amusement park?”

The second side of “Phrazes for the Young” veers into slower, sadder territory, starting with the arpeggiated soul cry of “4 Chords of the Apocalypse” and stretching into the truly odd “Ludlow St.,” a plaintive story of gentrification that sounds like a Martian cantina jukebox dirge (“It started back in 1624 / The Lenape tribes would soon be forced from their homes . . .”). It’s as if the drugs that propped up the first half of the album are wearing off, but that’s all right. There are few rockers more worth coming down with than Julian Casablancas.— Matthew Oshinsky

Live 2009SFJAZZ Collective
(SFJAZZ)
The SFJAZZ Collective engagingly investigates the music of McCoy Tyner, as perceptively arranged by band members, and also offers originals by the participants: saxophonists Joe Lovano and Miguel Zenón, Jersey-based pianist Renee Rosnes and trombonist Robin Eubanks, trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. The result is deep and refreshing. Rosnes’ version of Tyner’s “Fly With the Wind” has a rollicking throb thanks to potent rhythms and hearty horns, and Lovano and the arranger solo with spirit and heft. The honoree’s resplendently themed “Peresina, deftly arranged by Douglas, shines with telling remarks from the trumpeter and Rosnes. Douglas’ luxuriant and tender “Sycamore” finds various horns depicting the theme, or soloing freely, then emotional thoughts from Lovano and Penman.
The album is available from SFJAZZ.org.— Zan Stewart

RaditudeWeezer
(DGC/Interscope)
Fifteen years ago, Rivers Cuomo and his band, Weezer emerged as heroes of alternative rock with radio-ready hooks, earthquake guitars, and playful lyrics that delfated the self-seriousness plaguing the grunge scene. Millions of teenage fans swooned. Today, most of them have dismissed Weezer, and they really can’t be blamed. Judging by the band’s recent output, Cuomo is the only one among them who never grew up. In fact, he seems to have grown down. Between the power chords and occasional electro beats, Weezer’s seventh album is stuffed with pop-culture references of yesteryear (Slayer, “Titanic”) and I’m-so-nerdy-I’m-cool narratives. Girls are lame, partying is rad, parents suck, you know. Cuomo still has a knack for guitar hooks, and songs like “Trippin’ Down the Freeway” and “Let It All Hang Out” rumble with Weezer’s old power punch. Mostly, though, “Raditude” just sounds like talent unfulfilled.— Matthew Oshinsky

DuetsBlind Boys of Alabama
(Time Life)
Founded in 1939, the Blind Boys of Alabama hit a 21st-century purple patch starting with the Grammy-winning album “Spirit of the Century” (on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label) and culminating in last year’s “Down Home in New Orleans.” This inspired compilation collects the harmony group’s guest spots with famous friends, adding a few previously unissued duets. One treasure is the ancient Blind Lemon Jefferson tune “One Kind Favor” with sage singer-guitarist John Hammond — a profoundly moving performance underlining the original bond between spirituals and the blues. Another gem is a dusky cover of Richard Thompson’s “When the Spell Is Broken” with Bonnie Raitt. There is a saccharine meeting with the Eagles’ Timothy B. Schmit, but a surprisingly sympathetic one with Lou Reed on “Jesus,” as well as kindred-spirit turns with Solomon Burke, Ben Harper and Jars of Clay. — Bradley Bambarger

Beethoven: The Nine SymphoniesMinnesota Orchestra; Osmo Vänskä, conductor
(BIS)
Do we need another Beethoven cycle on disc? We do if it’s this good. After individual releases, the Minnesota Orchestra and Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä have collected their takes on the nine symphonies in a five-disc boxed set that goes for $46. Immaculately recorded studio-style on Super Audio CD — and in richer acoustics than the LSO’s best-selling SACD cycle with Bernard Haitink — the very contemporary interpretations feature nimble speeds, light vibrato, and lean textures. The wind playing is beautifully tuned, with the ensemble spruce and bright in the stateside way. Some will prefer a grander sound, and the curt phrasing of the Fifth is disappointing. But the early symphonies are wonderfully detailed, and the Ninth has a hurtling zest. Overall, this is the most striking Beethoven cycle by an American orchestra since the Cleveland/Szell set of the ’60s.— Bradley Bambarger

New York — Addis — London:
The Story of Ethio-Jazz, 1965-75Mulatu Astatke
(Strut)
Ethio-jazz is an infectious, darkly grooving genre that flourished in Ethiopia’s brief, late-1960s flurry of cosmopolitanism before political crackdown and cultural stagnation. The father of Ethio-jazz was vibraphonist-composer-arranger Mulatu Astatke, whose snaking funkiness and haunted melodies gained a belated high profile in the West on the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film, “Broken Flowers.” This Strut compilation — which follows the label’s spring release of Astatke’s powerhouse new-era encounter with London’s Heliocentrics — overlaps some with the Astatke-devoted Volume 4 in Buda’s fascinating “Ethiopiques” CD series. This disc, though, is longer and ranges wider. Such signature instrumentals as “Yegelle Tezeta” are here, along with a few Eastern-tinged vocals. Astatke’s unique sound — like a ghostly African echo of Blue Note soul-jazz — is just the ticket for those who think they’ve heard everything.— Bradley Bambarger